AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean

RAF Command from World War II

AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean

Country|  United Kingdom
Branch|  Royal Air Force

Military unit

Air Headquarters Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean (Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean or AHQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean) was a sub-command of RAF Middle East Command which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command during World War II.[1][2] Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean was established on 4 March 1943, by renaming the RAF command known as AHQ Egypt. Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul was the only commander of Air HQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean which was renamed Air HQ Eastern Mediterranean on 1 February 1944.[3]

## Order of battle

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On 10 July 1943, when the Allied forces invaded Sicily (Operation Husky), Air H.Q. Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean consisted of four fighter groups.

Air HQ Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean
Air Vice Marshal Richard Saul
Commanders[4] and Squadron Assignments[1]

No. 209 (Fighter) Group
Group Captain R.C.F. Lister | No. 210 (Fighter) Group
Group Captain John Grandy | No. 212 (Fighter) Group
Air Commodore Archibald Wann | No. 219 (Fighter) Group
Group Captain Hon. Max Aitken

|
|
|

No. 46 Squadron RAF Det., Beaufighter  | No. 3 Squadron SAAF, Hurricane  | No. 7 Squadron SAAF, Hurricane  | No. 46 Squadron RAF, Beaufighter
No. 127 Squadron RAF, Hurricane/Spitfire  | No. 33 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  | No. 41 Squadron SAAF, Hurricane  | No. 74 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
| No. 89 Squadron RAF, Beaufighter  | No. 80 Squadron RAF, Spitfire  | No. 238 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
| No. 213 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  | No. 94 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  | No. 335 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
| No. 274 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  | No. 108 Squadron RAF Det., Beaufighter  | No. 336 Squadron RAF, Hurricane
|  | No. 123 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  | No. 451 Squadron RAAF, Hurricane
|  | No. 134 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  |
|  | No. 237 Squadron RAF, Hurricane  |
|  | No. 1563 Met. Flight, Gladiator  |
|  | No. 1654 Met. Flight, Gladiator  |

Notes:
SAAF=South African Air Force; RAAF=Royal Australian Air Forces; Det.=Detachment; Met.=Meteorological.

## Notes

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1. ^ a b Richards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953).
2. ^ Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983, ISBN 0-912799-03-X).
3. ^ "Groups 200+_P". Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
4. ^ "Groups 200+_P". Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation

## References

[edit]

* Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983, ISBN 0-912799-03-X).
* Richards, Denis; Saunders, Hilary (1953). The Royal Air Force volume 2. London: HMSO. OCLC 560741421.
* Army Air Forces Historical Office Headquarters, Participation of the Ninth & Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign, Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 37, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 1945.
* Air of Authority - A history of RAF organisation.